We interviewed Rob Maher, who conducts the Professional Scrum Master Certification Course, to ask him some key things you need to know. Rob was happy to share some of his ideas down which are captured below.

Question : Rob, what is the number one benefit of getting yourself certified as a Professional Scrum Master?
Maher : I would say that the main benefit of any certification is tied to the strength of the assessment. By passing the Professional Scrum Master assessment and achieving certification, potential employers and colleagues can be sureof having a thorough understanding of the Scrum process and why it works. People with that level of understanding are hard to find, and extremely sought after!


Question : Scrum is meant to help you solve complex problems. What is it about scrum that enables it to help us deal with complexity?
Maher : Scrum is an empirical rather than defined process. As such it embraces change and provides an inbuilt mechanism to inspect progress and adapt to change. Defined processes try and prohibit change and make assumptions that will last for the life of the project/product. Empirical processes are superior for complex problems.

Consider the example of setting a room's temperature for the day. A defined process would try and calculate all variables up front. How many people are in the room? How many computers are there? Is there any food? Are the windows open? The number of variables are endless. This is a complex problem.

The correct solution is empirical. A thermostat ignores these variables, takes a reading of the current temperature and adds more cold/hot, then takes another reading. Empirical processes require transparency, adaption and visibility to succeed.


Question : Is scrum as a concept 'new’ – what makes it new?
Maher : Scrum is not new, it was first presented at OOPSLA in 1995. As such, it really is the grandfather of agile frameworks. There are many newer 'cooler' techniques out there, but Scrum has lasted because it is proven to add value.



Question : In the Scrum Guide, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland assert that Scrum is a process framework. They say, “Scrum is not a process or a technique for building products; rather, it is a framework within which you can employ various processes and techniques.” What does this really mean?
Maher : Scrum is a way to manage work. It is a framework, or set of rules. Think of the game of chess. There are rules to the game, but those rules do not provide a strategy to win or be successful.

Scrum has rules, but equally does not provide a strategy. Scrum cannot provide the strategy because one strategy will never be correct for every company. The answers will be contextual and be linked to the organisation. Following Scrum will expose those things that the organisation needs to change in order to be successful.



Question : Is it true that Scrum development teams are largely self-organising as well as cross-functional? How do these loosely managed teams manage things from a quality control, standards and consistency angle?
Maher : I believe that teams own quality. Trying to add quality from outside a team (via standards, testing quality in) will never be as effective as individuals believing that high quality is the only way to build successful products. Teams own their 'definition of done' - this is the externally visible measure of quality and consistency. This definition should be posted on the team's task board for all to see and comment on. This type of 'Information Radiator' is at the very heart of an empirical process like Scrum.



Question : It’s been said that the heart of Scrum is a Sprint. Do you agree and what does this effectively mean?
Maher : The sprint is how the team finds rhythym or cadence. By repeating the same length sprint over and over, the team finds a consistent sustainable pace they can continue over a long period.



Question : Some have said that a project manager will not make a good Scrum Master – do you agree?
Maher : A good Scrum Master can be a project manager, developer, analyst or tester. There really is no direct route from one role to another. Good Scrum Masters have the trust of their peers, great facilitation skills, good scrum knowledge and are fierce advocates of their teams. A Scrum Master is a true servant leader. Look for these skills rather than a job title.



Question : What are some of the key elements of a person focused on scrum - what are the keywords you would use to describe him/her?
Maher : Passionate, value driven, focused and fun!